Shri Guruprasad Mohapatra, Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation today said that the AMC is all set to start the first phase work ambitious Bhadra Plaza Development Project(BPDP) in wall city area. The first phase involves the works on the stretch that connects Bhadra court and Tran darwaja.

The area between Bhadra fort and Tran darwaja will be declared as pedestrian plaza.AMC and city traffic police will soon come with a notification for traffic diversion therefore.

A museum and city centre will be developed at Bhdra fort. Other works like public toilet, parking, gardens, road development, street light, rickshaw and taxi stand and lighting over the historical buildings are to be completed under the project.

Work on the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) ambitious Bhadra beautification project is all set to begin from January 26. In fact, the whole of the Bhadra Fort area will be declared out of bounds for all vehicular terrific once the work begins.

In 10 months time, the stretch between Bhadra Fort and Teen Darwaza will have been transformed into a devoted pedestrian zone with a specially designed walkway. There will be none of the chaos or the traffic the area is associated with currently; the AMC plans to turn the entire Bhadra area into a centre for leisure activities.

The project, which is being implemented under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), had been in the conception and planning stage for several years.The whole project includes development of the public plaza and a pedestrian space from Bhadra Fort to Teen Darwaja, restoration of the fort itself, development of Azamkhan Sarai area, a pedestrian bridge connecting Bhadra fort to the Sabarmati riverfront, and multilevel parking space at Lal Darwaja.
Work on the public plaza and the pedestrian space from Bhadra Fort to Teen Darwaja will commence on January 26 and will be completed within 10 months, said municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra.

To make restoration of Bhadra Fort and its surroundings more meaningful, historians from Khadia Itihas Samiti - an organization upholding the cause of conservation of heritage of Walled City since last two decades, have come forward with a set of recommendations. The restoration work at the fort is to start from today, on the occasion of Republic Day.

Itihas Samiti members submitted their recommendations to Bhavesh Mehta, visiting faculty at Cept and restoration architect linked with the Bhadra Fort restoration project. Mehta said, "We are mulling to involve historians, residents, pedestrians in the restoration of the fort. The European model of consultative restoration is the best approach to conserve historically sensitive live monuments like this." Mehta has worked in Europe for 14 years and has worked in conservation of Belgium's Brugge - UNESCO world heritage city and has restored various heritage structures in Mechelen town in Belgium.

Ashutosh Bhatt, founder and secretary of Khadia Itihas Samiti, says, "There are several significant signages at the fort which form a vital link with the history of Ahmedabad. These include the caved hole (gokhalo) where there is a constant flame (akhand divo) - a sign that has kept the Laxmi mythology alive, shrine of Kotwal Ahmed Basheer near Bhadrakali temple and marble plate on the fort installed during Maratha rule which states that daughters are a heir to father's property - such small but vital signages must be carefully retained and incorporated with the new design."

For authentic restoration of the live monument which is not a museum but live document of centuries and is part of the memories of millions of city dwellers, there is a need of consultative conservation approach, advised Munindra Joshi, former assistant director of State Archaeology department and member of Khadia Itihas Samiti.

The Samiti has also proposed to install the history of fort stating that the first agreement between Jahangir and British representatives to set up a colony at Surat actually took place at Bhadra Fort. In times of Peshwa rulers, execution of capital punishments used to take place at the Fort. "There are historical references which are documented in various books. And installations with brief historical details also must be put up after concluding the conservation project of the fort," said Bhatt.

The new look proposed for Bhadra fort will remind you of Sultan Ahmed Shah’s regime, literally. And to revive the look of yore, the team of consultants from the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) are going to such great lengths as researching on the species of trees that grew surrounding the fort during the time of the great ruler, who also laid the foundation of Amdavad city. Interestingly, one of the species that is being considered is date palm.

Elaborating more on the research and the design, Professor Utpal Sharma shared details on how his team is trying to reconstruct a landscape for Bhadra fort similar to the one that existed at the time of Ahmed Shah’s rule.

“We are in talks with landscape designers for having such trees and most probably date trees will be planted. Apart from the paintings, there are many references from where it is clear that Bhadra fort’s surrounding had date and palm trees. Earlier, Ahmedabad was known as ‘Gardabad’ meaning a city of dust. With scarcity of water and other weather conditions, the land is conducive for the growth of date and palm trees,” Sharma informed.

Elaborating further, Sharma stated that while the central space will be left vacant for pedestrians, the surroundings will have date palms to create an arcade.

Speaking to DNA, an official of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) Heritage department requesting anonymity stated, “We discussed with CEPT on having such trees which existed during those time — for historical connection. Since we are reviving history, having such trees will enhance the beauty of the historical edifice.”

The official also stated that several paintings of Ahmed Shah and the Bhadra fort, which were referred, show the building as being surrounded by palm trees. “But looking at the environment that such trees require, the existence of such species in that era remains a huge question,” added the official. However, he assured that the planting of saplings that will be done around Bhadra fort will be in sync with that of history.

Presently, as a part of the restoration work, the fort is witnessing civil work of paving the pedestrian area and construction of fountains. “After finalizing the species of trees, we will be planting those within a few months,” added the official.

However, while plans are afoot to plant species of trees that grew around Bhadra as evident from paintings, heritage expert and consultant with (AMC), Debashish Nayak, had a different perspective altogether. “The large area between Bhadra fort and Teen Darwaza had no landscape and it was a ceremonial ground for the soldiers of Ahmed Shah,” Nayak said.

Ahmedabad: The prestigious Bhadra precinct revitalization project in the walled city area of Ahmedabad has won the HUDCO Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment.The more than Rs 100 project is one-of-its-kind in the country and among first heritage and pedestrianization projects to be assisted under the JNNURM.The award will be conferred by HUDCO in Delhi and a team from the city has already left for the capital.

The award will be announced on Thursday and will be given at a public function the following day, says a senior AMC official.The HUDCO committee had gone into the details of the design of the precinct and the AMCs plans of revitalizing and conserving heritage buildings around the Bhadra square.

The linking of the Bhadra project with the Sabarmati Riverfront was an inclusive planning technique, adds the official.The project also scored because it was geared towards making the walled city trafficfree and making it accessible to pedestrians.The linking of the riverfront with walled city was mainly to improve the local economic conditions of those who live in the walled city.

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AHMEDABAD: Hundreds of hawkers outside Bhadra citadel in the walled city, who used to be seen packed cheek-by-jowl at Teen Darwaja are now being shifted to a new location, as part of the Bhadra revitalization plan. On Thursday a large delegation of hawkers stood outside the central office of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in Danapith, appealing that they would loose their business if they were shifted.

Deputy municipal commissioner Arjav Shah showed the delegation at least three spots around the walled city, where they could be rehabilitated. One location, just opposite Roopalee Cinema, where there is a large footpath and a portion of it could be used to seat hawkers. "This is a question of their livelihood. The hawkers were the reason for the bustle of the walled city. The other location is the new site of the Gujri bazaar on the riverfront. The third location is near Danapith itself," says a senior AMC official.

However, officials also pointed at a suggestion from the National Institute of Design (NID), where students had showed designs of collapsible shops with better portability and protection from the scorching sun. "The hawkers could be allowed to function at specific time of the day and given collapsible shops. This could be a controlled activity and the hawkers would not loose their livelihoods," says the official.

Now this will be interesting to see where they go. I like the idea of collapsible shops but thats for AMC to implement and for us to see. I am hoping AMC has planned to make sure hawkers dont go back to bhadra once the redevelopment is over.